Author's Note: I'm back!
I don't own DBZ.
II. Dark Passions
*~* Chapter Eighteen *~*
The Figure in White
Videl hummed to herself softly as she wandered out onto her balcony and stared up at the stars. It was a nice night- the wind was blowing softly and the stars were bright. She leaned against the railing and sighed a bit.
She was a little upset that Gohan refused to enter the Tenkaichi Budokai, but she really didn't think there was anything she could do that would change his mind. Videl briefly wondered why he'd refused to enter. Maybe it has something to do with his Dad and all . . .
Videl froze when she heard the soft rustling of leaves. She peered over her balcony and down at the garden below. A streak of white caught her eye as a figure darted behind a tree.
Videl immediately went inside her room, shutting and locking the balcony behind her. She pulled the curtains down over the doors, then hopped onto her bed, picking up the phone. She dialed an internal number, the one to the main security room of the house.
"Hello?" answered a guard.
"This is Videl. I . . . thought I saw someone outside in the gardens below my balcony. Could you check it out?"
"Sure thing. Stay by the phone, and we'll contact you later."
Videl didn't move from the spot on her bed. Her heart was slamming wildly in her chest as she hugged her knees. What if that prince guy sent someone after me? What if he's out there . . . waiting . . .
She jumped and let out a squeal when, about fifteen minutes later, her phone rang. She picked it up with an unsteady hand. "H-hello?"
"We didn't see anyone, Ms. Videl. Are you sure you saw someone?"
"Uh . . . maybe it was an animal or something . . ."
"Maybe. Call us if you need anything."
When she hung the phone up, she hesitantly slipped off of the bed and opened the doors to her balcony. She peered out, then stepped into the cool night air, fixing her gaze on the ground below. Videl held her breath and waited.
There!
She saw the flash of white again as the figure darted from behind the tree and into a set of bushes. Videl stumbled back into her room, then dialed the number again.
"I saw it again! Go check, please!"
So the security men went back outside, and once again reported that they had found nothing.
"I'm not crazy," she muttered to herself. "I saw it! I know I did!"
Shaking her head the whole time, Videl securely closed and locked her balcony doors. She glanced over at her clock- 12:19 am.
She stifled a yawn and sat in the middle of her bed, hugging her knees once more and leaning back against her pillows. She didn't want to fall asleep, just in case someone was out there. But within a few hours, she nodded off, falling into a fitful sleep.
*~*
He floated up to the girl's balcony and landed silently on it, his white outer shirt billowing in the wind. He tilted his head ever so slightly so that he gaze through the tiny crack in between the curtains that hung over the door.
The girl was curled up on her bed, sleeping with her lights on. I can't imagine what is so great about this female that he wants to have her in his possession. She looks like an average earth woman to me.
He studied her ki level, which, even in her sleep, was surprisingly high for a human from earth. Interesting . . . She was even fast enough to catch sight of me . . . unless I'm slowing down. He chuckled at that thought.
Maybe there was something more to this human female. And he was curious to know what it was.
*~*
When Videl woke up the next morning, the first thing she did was to throw open the balcony doors, then looked outside. She saw nothing that shouldn't have been there. Nothing was out of place.
If someone's watching you, Videl, of course they'd do it at night when it's dark. She retreated into her room, showered, then dressed.
She decided to go out for a jog around the park to work off some of her stress. Videl left her copter in the garage and walked over to the park and began to jog.
It was a little too early in the morning for anyone to be out, so she ran into very little people on her jog. Videl veered off of the main path and took a smaller one, one that she'd discovered herself. There was a really nice stream past a thick patch of trees. When she arrived at the stream, she sat on the grass and placed her hands in the cool water.
Snap.
Videl whirled around. Someone was there. She'd heard the snapping of a twig or some leaves, and she was positive that she wasn't hearing things. "Hello? Anyone out there?"
Of course no one answered.
A chill ran up Videl's spine as she prepared herself for a fight, if necessary. She could feel the eyes of someone on her. And they were close to her.
Videl took off, racing back through the trail and onto the main one, then all the way back to her house. She went up to her room, got her keys and got into her copter.
Videl found herself fly just above the area where Gohan lived and decided to stop by his house. She wasn't sure if she should tell him of her suspicion, that someone was watching her. She could just tell him that she'd stopped by to train with him. Deciding on that excuse, she landed in front of the Son home, got out of her copter, and knocked on the door.
A slightly drowsy looking Gohan opened the door. "Oh, hey Videl. You're here early."
"Sorry, I just wanted to get started early on my training. Can I come in?"
"Oh, yeah! Come on in." He stepped back and let her into the house, closing the door behind her. "You want some breakfast?"
She realized that she'd skipped the meal, then nodded. "I'd love some."
They went into the kitchen where Gohan already had a stack of pancakes, a mound of eggs and a bunch of bacon sitting on the table. He gave her a plate and got her a glass of juice. "Help yourself."
Videl eyed the food before taking small portions of everything. "You made this?"
"Yeah. Mom needs a break."
"That's nice of you."
Gohan just grunted in reply, then sat in a chair across from her, filling up a plate for himself. As he stuffed his face, he asked, "Do you mind telling me the real reason you're here early?"
Videl nearly dropped her fork. "W-what do you mean?"
"I can . . . almost sense your distress, Videl. Don't ask me how, I just can."
"Nothing's wrong."
"Really?" Gohan glanced down at her shaking hand, which held a glass of orange juice. She followed his gaze, then set the glass on the table. "You can tell me. I might be able to help with your problem."
"I think someone's watching me," she blurted out quickly.
Gohan frowned. "Watching you?"
"Yeah . . . Last night, I'm positive I saw someone, or something in the gardens below my balcony last night. But when the guards went out to check, they found nothing. And then, when I went to jog in the park, I felt someone watching me, but I didn't see anyone." She glanced up at him. "Do you think I'm imagining this? Am I paranoid?"
"I don't know . . . After all that's happened, I don't think that it's NOT possible."
"So then you believe me?"
"Yeah. I guess."
"Gee, that sounded reassuring," she muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"I'd like to have some sort of proof Videl. You may be worrying yourself over nothing."
"Whatever." She yawned, pushing away her plate of food. She wasn't hungry anymore.
Gohan saw how tired she was, and stood up. "Come on. I suspect you didn't get a lot of sleep last night."
She followed him into her room where he made her lie down in his bed. "Get some sleep, okay? We'll train later." Gohan closed his door behind him as he left.
Gohan wandered outside where he cleared his thoughts and searched for any unusual power levels, or a ki that he didn't recognize. He stiffened when he felt a tiny ki, one that was obviously being suppressed. Whoever had the ki was close by, but when he looked around, he didn't see anyone.
Gohan went back into the house and suddenly, Goten came tearing down the hall, racing by Gohan to get to the kitchen. Gohan sighed and grabbed the back of his brother's shirt, lifting him off of the ground.
"Hiya Gohan! I smell food!!"
"Pipe down, alright? Videl's here and she's trying to get some sleep."
Goten's mouth formed a tiny 'o' and his eyes widened. "Got ya." When his feet were set back down of the floor, he tiptoed into the kitchen with a finger over his mouth to keep himself quiet.
Gohan went back into his room, shutting the door behind him. Once again, Videl was asleep in his bed. Thoughts of his dream from the other night flashed in his head, and he blushed. He kind of liked the idea that he and Videl could be . . . together. And the sight of her in his bed looked so right . . .
Like I'd ever have the guts to tell her how I feel. I'm brave enough to fight off dangerous enemies, but I can't tell a girl that I like her. Shoot!
Gohan still had the cot in his room, so he pulled it out and sat down on it, watching Videl as she slept. Eventually, his eyelids began to feel heavy and he, too, fell asleep.
*~*
The young human boy was now asleep. He quietly walked up to the window and peered inside. There was the girl, asleep again. I guess I disturbed her last night . . .
His thoughts and gaze went to the teenaged boy lying on a cot. He frowned, remembering the previous incident.
The boy had sensed his presence.
It was a little hard to believe that someone on the mud-ball planet called earth had the ability to recognize ki and it's different levels. He began to read the boy's level, then muttered, "Impossible!"
After spending just a few days on earth, observing it's people and their behavior, he'd come to the conclusion that the planet held no life form capable of competing with the evil that loomed in the future. But this boy, a mere boy, had a surprising high ki level, and a familiar one.
What's this? Familiar?
His eyes shifted as a little boy came out of the back of the house with a piece of some sort of food in his hand. He was staring at the ground, mumbling something. This boy was familiar looking, too, as if he'd seen him somewhere. But that wasn't possible.
He quickly darted into the thick patch of woods behind the circular home, but not before the young boy had caught a glimpse of something white running away from the window of his house.
*~*
Goten's mouth hung open as he stared at the trees, the piece of pie he'd been holding slipping from his hand. Had he actually seen a ghost?
Well, he's seen something white, and he had immediately decided that it was a ghost. What else could it have been? He didn't know of an animal that could move that fast and was as tall as the ghost was. Then again, he was only a little kid and didn't know very much in the first place.
Goten walked up to the window where his ghost had been standing and looked inside. Videl and Gohan were sleeping peacefully inside.
Weird. Why would a ghost stare at them?
Goten went back inside and into the living room where Chichi was watching the news. He climbed onto his mother's lap and placed his head against her chest. "Ma . . ."
"Yes Goten?"
"Do you . . . believe in ghosts?"
Chichi looked down at him. "What? Why do you ask?"
"No reason."
"Well . . . I'm not sure. I mean, I've never seen one, but other people have claimed they have and stuff like that."
Goten frowned. "I thought I saw something white outside, standing at Gohan's window, that's all. It was really fast, so I couldn't see it very well."
"Maybe . . .you should tell Gohan what you saw later, okay?"
"Okay."
Goten was eager to tell Gohan what he'd seen and was unable to sit still for more than ten minutes. An hour and a half later, when Gohan and Videl emerged from his room, Goten attacked them, jumping up and down.
"Guess what I saw, guess what I saw!" he exclaimed.
Videl grinned. "What?"
"A GHOST!! Isn't that neat?"
Gohan laughed. "A ghost? You sure about that?"
"Well, I was going outside when I saw something big and white running into the woods. It had been staring into your window, Gohan!"
Videl gasped and glanced at Gohan. "White? You're sure?"
"Yep!"
She shivered. Her stalker followed her all the way out here? "What I saw last night . . . was white too," she muttered.
Gohan stared down at her, then put two and two together. So the person watching her had followed her to his house. If the guy got out here without her noticing, then he must have been flying, which would explain the ki I felt earlier. But if he wanted to take Videl, why didn't he do it last night, when she was sleeping, or while she was flying out here?
Goten looked at both of them. "Are you two keeping something from me?" he asked, pouting. "I wanna know what's going on!"
"So do I," said Chichi, joining the group in the hallway.
Gohan led them into the living room, where they all sat. He, with the help of Videl, explained the situation to his mother and little brother. Chichi, naturally, was worried out of her mind.
"Kami, Videl! You could be in serious danger!" said his mother, sounding horrified.
"But Mom, if this guy wanted Videl, I think he would've taken her by now. I mean, he could've taken her last night," Gohan put in, not wanting to scare Videl.
"Why don't you stay here?" Chichi suggested. "You'll be safer."
Videl sighed. "I'd love to, but my Dad would have a fit."
Gohan stood up and pulled his mother aside. "I'm going to run up to Dende's for a second, okay? I'll be back soon," he whispered to her, then left the house.
"Where's he going?" asked Videl.
"Ahhh . . . to a friend's place to . . . ask for help!"
"How's he going to get anywhere? Does he need a ride?"
Chichi bit her bottom lip, then rubbed her hands together. "No! Ummm . . . Bulma gave us a capsule jet a while ago."
Videl looked suspicious. Chichi's hesitant voice and her nervous movements gave her away. Well, don't they like to lie a lot? "Sure . . ."
*~*
"You want me to what?" Piccolo asked, looking at Gohan like he'd just grown five extra heads.
"Aww, come on, Piccolo! You're the only one I know who doesn't have a life!"
A muscle in Piccolo's mouth twitched as Gohan slapped a hand over his mouth and Dende chuckled. "Oops, sorry. You know what I mean! Everyone else has a family and/or job and they can't spend the whole day looking after her!"
Piccolo sighed and closed his eyes. He did not want to look after Gohan's little girlfriend all day. He had better things to do, like meditate, train and . . . "What's in it for me, kid?"
Gohan rolled his eyes. "You're beginning to sound like Vegeta!"
"Take that back! I do not."
"Um, sorry? Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut . . ."
"Maybe," Piccolo grumbled. Dende just snickered.
"PLEASE, PLEASE, Piccolo? Hopefully, you won't have to watch her for very long. Maybe you'll catch this guy who's after her!"
This caught the older Namek's attention. There could be a fight . . . It had been so long since he had a decent spar with anyone. Disgusting. Not I AM sounding like Vegeta. "Fine, Gohan, I'll do it."
Gohan ran up to Piccolo and was just about to hug him when Piccolo gave him a 'back off' glance. He stepped back and laughed. "Er, okay then! Do you know where she lives?"
"I'll be able to find her. I'll be watching when she leaves your place, okay?"
"Great! And thanks again!"
Dende chuckled as Gohan flew off. "Ahh, the things you do for him. He has you wrapped around his finger, you know."
Piccolo glared at the Guardian, then, with his cape billowing out behind him in his usual dramatic way, flew into the air and headed towards the Son home.
*~*
He grinned as he watched the boy land not too far from his house and began to converse with a green man. Green . . . ha! He must be a Namek, and not a Midorian. [1] But what is a Namek doing here?
He briefly pushed the subject of the Namek out of his mind. Something more important was going down. So he's on to me . . . and he's brought back up. He read the Namekian's ki level, then snorted. Unless this guy was suppressing his ki, he posed no threat to him if he decided to get in the way of his mission.
He watched as the Namek flew high into the air, so that he was barely visible, while the boy went inside his house. Soon, the girl emerged, along with another female and the little boy he'd seen earlier. They spoke for a while, then the girl hopped into her flying contraption and took off. He frowned as the Namek followed her. Then, as the older boy suddenly changed into a green tunic with a black, skintight thing underneath it and flew off after them, he groaned.
He would have quiet a job on his hands, avoiding both of them. He glanced up at the sky and shook his head. This girl better be worth all of this trouble!
*~*
Videl noticed nothing out of the ordinary as she flew back to her house, turning up the radio loudly to drown out her thoughts. She was very nervous about this whole stalker business, and felt unsafe flying back to Satan City by herself.
She glanced out of her side window, then gasped as Saiyaman waved at her. She nearly lost control of the jet copter, but quickly regained it.
Saiyaman was mouthing, 'Stop' while flying alongside of her.
Videl set the copter on hover and rolled down her window. "What is it?"
"Uh, can we talk?"
"Sure. But how are we supposed to do that when we're miles above the ground?"
Saiyaman looked over his shoulder at something, then said, "How about I get into the passenger side while you fly back home?"
"Fine." She reached across and unlocked the other door. He flew around the front of the copter, then got in, closing the door behind him. She watched as he buckled his seat belt. Videl returned the jet to fly mode. "So, what do you want?"
"I just wanted to see how you were doing."
"How touching," she muttered. "But thanks. For saving me, I mean."
"No problem."
"Whatever happened to the guy who kidnapped me?"
"Ahh . . . he killed himself."
Videl glanced at him. "WHAT?! You're kidding!"
"I'm not. He didn't want me or anyone else to torture any information out of him, so he did himself in. I'll spare you the details."
"Thanks. So, were you following me?"
" . . . not really! I was . . . in the area!"
"Riiiiiight." She grinned playfully, then glanced over at him. "Why, Saiyaman, I'm beginning to think that you like me!"
He was beginning to sweat. "Er . . . of course I like you! Why wouldn't I?!"
"Don't play with me. You know what I mean." She sent him a sly glance. "Do you think I'm cute?"
Oh, gosh . . . what is she DOING?!! "I . . . uh . . . I don't have the liberty to say . . ."
"What do you mean, 'I don't have the liberty'? It's a yes or no question!" She waved her hand. "But never mind, I can tell you do. I'm flattered!"
"I . . . I never said anything! What are you talking about?!"
"Well, you don't look too bad yourself . . . but with a body like that, your face is probably hideous. Is that why you wear that trashcan on your head?" teased Videl.
She likes my BODY?!! Wait a minute . . . she's been CHECKING ME OUT?!! "Ahhhhhh . . ."
"Why don't you let me see who you are?"
"Ummmm . . ." She thinks I'm hot . . . or Saiyaman, anyway . . .
"Or you 'don't have the liberty' to do that? Hmm?"
"That's right! I don't!"
She chuckled, then looked him over in a way that made Gohan squirm. "You're strange, you know that? I complement you, and you don't even-"
"Sorry! You're . . . nice looking . . . I guess."
Videl was hurt. She was actually hurt. "That's it?"
"Well, you called my face hideous and you haven't even seen it yet!"
"Then why don't you show me?"
Gohan realized that she'd backed him into a corner. "Never mind. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. You're very, very pretty."
Videl blushed. TWO very's? Wow. "Gee, thanks, I guess."
"Uh, yeah! Look, I have to go . . ." Without waiting for her to stop, he threw open the door, hopped out and closed it back, flying away.
"Weirdo. A real quack . . ."
A very, very good looking quack . . .
*~*
Piccolo chuckled slightly when Gohan left Videl's copter, his face as red as a tomato. "What happened, Gohan? You're blushing . . ."
"I am NOT!" he cried frantically. "Forget about that. Make sure she doesn't go anywhere without you knowing."
"Don't worry Gohan. I swear, you're worse than your mother sometimes . . ."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. Go home and get some rest, Okay?" He shot forward, getting a little closer to Videl's copter while staying out of sight.
Gohan sighed and headed back home. He couldn't help but worry about Videl. I hope Piccolo is able to protect her . . .
*~*
When Videl returned home, she immediately went up to her room. She began to pace back and forth as it got closer and closer to nightfall.
Night finally came and Videl was now more paranoid than ever. She locked her bedroom door and went into her bathroom, leaving that door open. She quickly showered and, as she was walking back into her room while running a brush through her hair, she paused outside of her balcony doors. Videl had a strange feeling that someone was out there.
This may be stupid, but . . . She unlocked and opened the balcony doors, then jumped back in surprise. Videl was so shocked that she couldn't even scream.
A green man was sitting Indian-style on a tree branch hanging just over her balcony. He stared at her, not saying anything.
"Who . . . WHAT . . ."
"Don't be afraid of me. I'm not here to hurt you."
The man's- was he even HUMAN- voice was hard, yet soft at the same time. She stepped out into the night air. "Who are you?"
"A friend of Gohan's. He wanted me to watch over you."
Videl was flattered. "He did? Wow . . . uh, thank you, I guess."
"Gohan is a very close friend of mine. I would do anything for him," he said truthfully.
"Wow . . . You really must care for him."
He didn't say anything.
"Ahh . . . I'm going to take a stab in the dark here. You wouldn't happen to be Piccolo, the guy who blew up the moon?" asked Videl.
The man looked startled. "He told you about that?"
"Um, not really. It's a long story. So, Piccolo, where are you from?"
" . . ."
"What's wrong? Are you from outer space?" she asked as if the idea was totally ridiculous.
"What if I was?"
"WHAT?!! You're kidding!"
"I'm not the joking type. I am from the planet Namek."
"Which would explain the weird clothes, pointy ears and green skin."
"Right."
"Ohhh . . . man, Gohan has some weird friends." She gasped, then added. "No offense."
He just smirked at her. "Shouldn't you be sleeping or something?"
Videl could take a hint. "Sure thing. Whatever." She left the doors to her balcony open and retreated to her room. She clicked off the lights and climbed into her bed, feeling much safer, for some reason, now that this Namek was watching her.
*~*
A few hours into Piccolo's watch, something caught the Namek's sharp eyes. A bush to his left had just shifted softly. It could be the wind . . . or . . . He raised and eyebrow when he saw something white sticking out of the bush.
. . . Maybe not . . .
Piccolo launched himself at the tree and grinned triumphantly when a figure quickly crawled out and stood up. He raised an eyebrow at the Midorian that stood before him. What in the world is a Midorian doing all the way out here? And working with a bunch of Saiyans?
The Midorian crossed his arms over his chest. "So, I've been found out . . ."
"Just who the hell are you? And what are you doing out here?"
"Why, I thought Namek's were smarter than that. What does it look like- I'm a Midorian."
"I know that," snarled Piccolo. "What do you want with that girl?"
"This doesn't concern you."
Piccolo growled and punched the stranger in the face. He stumbled back, then chuckled. "Is that the best you've got?"
The Midorian launched his own attack, pinning Piccolo to the ground. "I am Pikkon, the mighty Midorian champion! Don't mess with me!" [2] Pikkon pushed Piccolo further into the dirt, pressing his arm into his throat. "I'm trying to HELP this pathetic excuse for a planet by keeping her safe and-"
They both froze when they heard, "WHO'S OUT THERE?!" coming from inside the mansion and a light flicked on. Pikkon growled, then flew off into the air. Piccolo ducked behind a bush just before Hercule himself steppe outside and looked around in the dark. When he was satisfied with what he saw, he went back inside the house.
Piccolo sighed in frustration as he searched for any signs of the mysterious Pikkon, but found nothing. He went back up to his tree to keep watch, although, by the passionate words of Pikkon the Midorian, he wasn't sure if he was needed any longer.
When the sun began to rise, Piccolo realized that Pikkon hadn't returned.
Author's Note: Anyone confused? E-mail me then! Everything will thing be explained in the next chapter.
[1] This is the name for Pikkon's race that I made up. Midoriro is the Japanese word for green, so . . . If he has an actual race, then let me know. He says he must be a Namek because, well, there are some obvious differences between Pikkon and Piccolo.
[2] Who saw this coming?! Haha!
ADVERTISING: Read School Dayz by Nik Nak. It's about Goten and Trunks in school and it's pretty cute.
NEXT CHAPTER: Piccolo tells Gohan about the mysterious Pikkon. Everything about the enemy is revealed.
